Czechs to Set Up Gas Spot Market

Czech-based Power Exchange Central Europe, or PXE, is to launch a spot market for trading natural gas this year. The venture will be established in cooperation with Austria's Central European Gas Hub (CEGH).

The two partners announced they had signed a co-operation agreement to cover derivatives products with delivery in the Czech gas market.

The new CEGH market for the Czech Republic will run on the Trayport GlobalVision Exchange Trading System (ETS) of PXE. The market will be cleared by European Commodity Clearing (ECC) which is also the clearing partner for CEGH and PXE.

CEGH is the largest gas hub in Central Europe. It provides the trading platform for Austria's natural gas hub at Baumgarten, which is the first entry point for imports to Western Europe from Russia.